The USA ranks third in the global prevalence of diabetes, preceded only by India and China. About 7% of the population has diabetes. A third of the total number of people with the condition is believed to be undiagnosed and therefore not receiving treatment to reduce the risk of disabling and life-threatening diabetes complications. The economic costs of diabetes are enormous – estimated at 132 billion USD in 2002. The mission of the US National Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) is to reduce diabetes-related illness and death. NDEP focuses on optimizing diabetes care to improve management and outcomes for all people with diabetes in the USA, and addresses the urgent need to help prevent or delay the onset of the condition. It is hoped that NDEP might serve as a model for efforts to counter the diabetes epidemic in other countries.